{"id":3015,"date":"2026-07-25T17:03:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T17:03:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3015"},"modified":"2026-07-25T17:03:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T17:03:29","slug":"woman-detained-by-ice-at-dia-files-habeas-petition-challenging-arrest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3015","title":{"rendered":"Woman detained by ICE at DIA files habeas petition challenging arrest"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div><strong>Getting your Trinity Audio player ready&#8230;<\/strong><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Lawyers for the Ecuadorian woman detained by federal agents at Denver International Airport this week have filed a habeas corpus petition challenging her arrest and confinement at the immigration detention facility in Aurora.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3013\">Colorado anti-violence activist sentenced to 51 years in prison for revenge murder at child\u2019s birthday party<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Lichter Immigration law firm in Denver filed the federal petition Thursday on behalf of 27-year-old Chantal Alejandra Morales Rojas. Habeas petitions challenge someone\u2019s incarceration, although not necessarily the underlying legal case that led to that confinement.<\/p>\n<p>Under the Trump administration\u2019s surge in immigration arrests and deportations, habeas petitions have become the predominant avenue for immigrants seeking release from detention.<\/p>\n<p>A representative from U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday. The agency previously said Morales Rojas entered the U.S. on Oct. 20, 2024, and overstayed her visa, which allowed her to remain in the country until Jan. 4, 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Video of Morales Rojas\u2019 arrest at a Southwest Airlines gate at DIA on Monday has been widely shared on social media.<\/p>\n<p>According to her attorneys, Morales Rojas entered the United States lawfully in January 2023 as a J-1 exchange visitor \u2014 a legal status allowing her to work as an au pair. She re-entered on a visa in 2024, according to her attorneys.<\/p>\n<p>Before the end of the exchange program, Morales Rojas\u2019 attorneys said she filed an application with U.S. immigration authorities allowing her to remain in the country while her case was under review. The application does not provide formal immigration status while she waits, the law firm said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDuring the last three and a half years, Morales Rojas lived openly in the United States with the government\u2019s knowledge of her pending case, passed repeated background checks and received work authorization from (the Department of Homeland Security) while waiting for her application to be reviewed,\u201d her attorneys said in a news release. \u201cMorales Rojas has no criminal history or other concerns, and the process she\u2019s pursuing is completely lawful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3011\">Denver police arrest driver following early Friday fatal crash<\/a><\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>On Monday, ICE agents arrested Morales Rojas at DIA while she was boarding a flight back to Oakland, Calif., where she lives, after spending the weekend providing childcare for her former au pair family while they were at an ultimate Frisbee competition in Aurora.<\/p>\n<p>Her law firm argues that the federal government knew who Morales Rojas was and where she lived and that she had a pending application with immigration authorities allowing her to be in the U.S. while under review. The application authorized the 27-year-old to work, and Morales Rojas has also been studying computer science, her lawyers said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou might not know it from watching the headlines for the last 18 months, but ICE generally can\u2019t just arrest someone because they think they\u2019re violating the immigration laws,\u201d said lead attorney Laura L. Lichter. \u201cThey can put a case in front of an immigration judge if they think someone is here illegally, but unless there\u2019s a special circumstance, they can\u2019t legally detain someone without a proper arrest warrant and taking the time to review each case to see if a person is actually a flight risk or a danger.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The petition asks the federal court to order Morales Rojas\u2019 immediate release or require the government to provide the individualized custody determination required by law.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cThis case is bigger than immigration policy,\u201d Lichter said. \u201cIt\u2019s about whether the government can take away a person\u2019s liberty first and ask questions later. Habeas corpus exists to make sure that doesn\u2019t happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Get more Colorado news by signing up for our daily Your Morning Dozen email newsletter.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3010\">Denver doctor qualifies for ballot to take on Democrat Melat Kiros as independent candidate for Congress<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lawyers for Chantal Alejandra Morales Rojas, the Ecuadorian woman detained by ICE at Denver International Airport this week, have filed a habeas corpus petition challenging her arrest and confinement at the immigration detention facility in Aurora.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3014,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colorado-news","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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